Need password to reconnect with time capsule

Would be grateful to anyone who has discovered how to make the auto-password-authentication automation for time capsule hard drive access work!

I use the following Apple Script to 'automatically' mount my TC at login for Time Machine:

-- ***************************************************************************

-- AppleScript to detect & mount TC's HDD for Time Machine

--

-- Tesserax, Oct 2016

--

-- Revision History

-- Initial release

-- ***************************************************************************

try

mount volume "afp://<TC's Base Station Name>.local/Data" as user name "<use can enter anything here>" with password "<TC's Disk PW> "

end try

Then I would Save As this script as an Application. Finally, I would add this application as a Login Item for my user account.

I never have to re-enter the TC's password to access the Data partition for Time Machine.

You don't need any of the informational header that you see in the script that I posted. Just use the lines starting with try to end try.

Let's use a simple example:

• The Time Capsule has a base station name of TC.
• The HDD partition, that is used by Time Machine, by default, is named: Data
• You configured the TC to use disk permissions for sharing with a password of: password123
• A username is not required, so we will use: Administrator

Ok, with that, the script would look like the following:

try

mount volume "afp://TC.local/Data" as user name "Administrator" with password "password123"

end try

If you use Finder's Connect to Server option and enter: afp://J8338 5G.local/large blue WD, can it mount it that way? If not, I suspect the spaces in both the base station name and the share name are the culprits.

I am having the same problem. I have a 4th gen time capsule, with an external USB drive. Every time I move to access the thing in Finder, I am challenged for the device password, which I keep entering, and I keep checking the box to allow the password to be remembered in keychain. It never does. The next time I want to access the drive - same thing - manual password entry.

You don't indicate what operating system that you might be running on your Mac......but it is likely High Sierra (10.13.x). Would that be correct?

If yes, High Sierra has added more security measures to the operating system, and you are seeing the results of a decision that Apple has made for you that you now want to be asked to enter the password for the Time Capsule drive or an attached external drive when you want to access the contents of the hard drive(s).

Your next question might be whether or not there is an option to override this new added security that Apple thinks you should have. The answer is "no" using normal Mac commands, but there might be a way to tell the Mac to do what you want using a custom Terminal command string.

I haven't found it.....but maybe one of the Terminal gurus has figured out a way to do this.

If you don't see another suggestion using Terminal on this thread, you will likely receive a faster and more informed answer if you post your question in the High Sierra support forum, which is linked below. That's where the Terminal gurus hang out.

macOS High Sierra

So...this worked when I put it in as the network path....

afp://JR@J8338%205G._afpovertcp._tcp.local/large%20blue%20WD

Go figure.

The Finder open share dialogue (and the script) will only accept this computerese version of the path, but will not accept the more human j8338 5g.local.

So much for "it just works" 😉

Never mind on this last.....I was using improper quotation marks 😊

Bob,

Yes, I am running High Sierra, at its latest version (10.13.6). Interestingly, I have seen people complaining about this problem going back a few years, so it is clearly a problem that Apple keeps reduplicating in its software and is unmotivated to correct.

Thank you very much for the advice - I will post to the HS forum forthwith.

J

Tesserax,

Thank you!

That's a handy bit of coding there - short, simple, and sweet.

I am trying to figure out if my current TC data drive connections are over AFP or SMB. I can't find it anywhere. Right clicking their icons in Finder is useless for good info.

Do you have any idea how to determine the connection protocol being used by the system?

Thanks again!

I am trying to figure out if my current TC data drive connections are over AFP or SMB.

No more figuring out is required. 😉 Time Machine uses AFP to connect to a Time Capsule for backups. I even verified this with data dump via Wireshark.

On the other hand, Time Machine can use SMB for backups to other network devices, like a Synology NAS. In this case it can use up to SMB3 for this communication protocol.

Ok, now I'm running into this (attached text box)....

Here's my script.....

try

mount volume "afp://J8338 5G.local/large blue WD" as user name “JR” with password “XXX”

end try

Any thoughts?

Thanks again....I really do appreciate it. This is as close to a solution as I've ever been!

Ugh.

So, going through Finder failed.

Then I tried putting backslahes before the spaces --> failed.

Then I changed the names of the shares to replace the spaces with underscores --> more failure.

I'm ready to toss this machine out the window....

From the standpoint that Apple's mantra has always been to appeal to non-techie users....to make technology more of a seamless thing that one didn't need to know the secret knock for....they've failed in this instance. That was what I meant.

If they'd designed this well for the end-user, one would be able to click on the Data disk of their TC, enter the password, click the remember password button, and that would be it. Every time they clicked from there on out, voila. One makes a shortcut on their desktop to that volume, and they're off and running.

But...in reality, it doesn't work well. One has to go searching to debug the Apple process, find helpful tech savvy people on the internet, and learn arcana about file path naming. It just shouldn't be this hard. We've got real jobs, and most of us aren't IT professionals.

Thanks again for the scripting idea...it's working well now. Will definitely make this more of a seamless thing.

... and I'm not disagreeing with you. I just thought you may want a bit more info on the 'why.'

Regardless, why don't you submit your concerns directly to Apple here:

Product Feedback - Apple

Remember, you're not talking directly to Apple reps here, we are just fellow Apple-product users, just like yourself, trying to help. There's no way we would know any OP's 'technical comfort level' and do the best we can to help you get to a solution.

I appreciate it, very much.

I'm too jaded to submit many bug reports to the manufacturer. I believe they never get looked at. Searching the internet suggests this particular problem has existed for years, so they clearly aren't going to get around to fixing it....it's not going to affect their computer and device sales.

Only once has Apple replied to me after a bug report. They went a little nutty when users were complaining about the Mail client during 1-2 OS versions back. Then, they called or emailed me every week. It was really weird. On everything else, you rarely hear a peep, and it's on the user to push and push until their problem gets solved. They're the richest company around, so they can do this, for now.

That said, I am glad that there are people like you who know what's what, and are willing to share their experience!

This may have started with the intro of Sierra about 2 years ago.....I cannot say exactly.